ARISTOCRACY

term used by Aristotle to mean ‘the rule of the best’; hence, right government by a small privileged cla . The term in modern English is used in reference to members of the peerage, a limited number of whom have hereditary seats in the House of Lords, and thus take part in the government of the country. The medieval. republics of Venice, Genoa, and other places in Italy may be cited as examples be! government solely by the patrician cla .